Health Care

Upward pressure on US consumer prices is stemming from two elements. Rents and medical services. Due to the differences in the composition of the basket of goods and services that are used, the core personal consumption deflator, which the Fed targets, typically lags behind core CPI.

Despite the exorbitant costs and cruelties of the US-style private healthcare model, the UK is moving towards a similar model. The US companies are poised to take control of the system.

Supporters of a single-payer healthcare system in the US frequently hold up the British National Health Service (NHS) as a model. However, the bitter irony is that the British are copying the most iniquitous elements of the US system, rather than the US emulating what is good about the NHS.

If you live in Asia and the Pacific, do you ever wonder how high your risk is of contracting antimicrobial-resistant bacteria or emerging infectious diseases such as a new strain of avian influenza? Unfortunately, I have to tell you that the risk here is higher than in any other region in the world.

1. South and Southeast Asia are epicenters for antimicrobial resistance

Universal health coverage (UHC) has become a key agenda of policy makers in many countries. According to the definition of the World Health Organization (2010), UHC is the goal that “all people have access to health services and do not suffer financial hardship in paying for them.” In most developing countries, the goal of UHC is not easy to reach because large, resource-poor populations have limited access to health services.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a significant bill, enacted into law in March 2010 with the goal of providing accessible and affordable health care for all Americans. Rising health care costs and insurance premiums – along with the significant number of uninsured individuals – created the impetus for Congress to change the national health care system.

Opponents of the law argued that it – and specifically the employee mandate – would be very expensive for businesses by increasing their insurance costs and harm jobs growth.